Villa Chandra, Indonesia

VILLA CHANDRA.

There's something about the feeling of an escape, weather it be escaping your desk for a coffee, or escaping the rain for the warmth of your home. The more captivating kind, is escaping your reality for a week at Chandra Villas. Rarely do you find service so attentive, a service that will strip away at the layers of metropolitan you've been accumulating over the year. A kind of peace you will only experience in Bali amid the chaos of the bustling streets, under the serenity of the palm trees.

This trip was different to the others we take, as this time we were coming in bigger numbers; an occasion chosen to celebrate my father's birthday. It's difficult to find the perfect place for an occasion as such. Somewhere private but attentive, secluded yet exciting; thankfully Chandra Villas was just that, a home away from home where every little detail has been covered.

Chandra Villas is located in the bustling town of Seminyak, arriving at the villa meant driving through streets of electric restaurants and crowds of people; until we hit a private estate. We followed the maze through past other villas and private gardens until we hit Chandra's gate. It is almost unbelievable to think seclusion and intimacy like this could be achieved moments away from the centre of it all.

We received a Balinese greeting like no other, a tour of a villa, a watermelon-iced-tea and nothing but the trickling sound of the waterfall. The villas themselves are phenomenal, boasting an elaborate lap-pool and cabana. Each of the luscious bedrooms leads into an outdoor bathroom adorned with a standalone-marble-tub festooned with floating flower petals. The space is open plan, allowing for a huge open dining area looking over the luscious gardens.

If you are here with your family, be prepared to take a step back and give-in to the pleasure of having someone take care of everything for you. Starting with your own private butler preparing a traditional Balinese breakfast every morning; all while your children are safely aside in the glass-enclosed playroom, separate enough to let you unwind, yet keep a watchful eye. Our butler organised traditional massages for all our guests, at our chosen time, four masseurs arrived at our door with their massage table's in-hand. As the night grew deep, an elaborate seafood feast was prepared for our family, we watched on as the decedent assortment of fresh seafood sizzled away on the outdoor BBQ. We ate under the stars that night as loose frangipanis fell from the tree and hit the crisp pool water.

Leaving Chandra was no easy feat, a place where we truly gave-in to luxurious of being on vacation.